Beyond Eternity

DAY 1

It was a stormy morning when the girl awoke, looking outside, she could see the grey skies and puddles that formed as the loud drops echoed through her ears. The weather was cold but she did not feel like going back to sleep. She pondered for a short while about what she wants to do.

“I could play in the rain today… Going out wandering right now sounds lovely.”

“Or I could just stay indoors and wait it out while I warm myself and be dry and cozy.”

“What to do…?”

After a rather long time of contemplating than the average person would regarding the matter, she made her decision.

“I guess I'll just stay indoors then.” She said as she headed towards the castle kitchen

She made herself a small fire by the hearth, using some of the firewood stacked nearby.

“You all are here too, huh?” she said, looking into a corner of the room. “Right, I still had some fowl left over from yesterday, well, in that case, do you mind fetching me something to eat and drink?”

The storm outside was fierce, the thunders roared and the amount of rainfall reduced the areas visibility, but within the castle walls, one wouldn't even know about it what with the thickness of the stonework. The storm began at dawn, occasionally slowing down or gaining power, sometimes looking like it’s about to end but to resumed strongly. The girl ate made herself some soup to drink and ate some cooked meat and then some. Only after that did the sky clear up, showing the warm rays of the sun once more.

“Ah, finally time for me to go.” Said the girl, looking around her “It’s about time you all left too, this is still the castle after all, I only gave you the privilege of shelter for it was stormy.”

The girl herself left the castle after a short while, leaving through the main gate and then finding herself at the large plains which was now filled with the nice smell that can be noticed after a rain, a few puddles along the grass which clearly reflected the sky and soon enough, the sun shining through the clouds, one spot at a time until the ambiance of the place changed to that of a vivid one.

Thinking of taking her daily stroll just as she always has, she set out to wherever her feet might take her, she had no exact destination in mind, and neither did she mind where she was going, she only knew that she’d be somewhere eventually, since at this point, there wasn’t a place around that she hasn’t been. As her legs acted on their own and she moved at a random direction, she let her imagination take over and silently listened to it.

On occasion, she’d find herself under the shade of a tree, and so she plucked some fruit, she found herself on different places, all of which she had seen countless times, and depending on where she was, she spent the time how she wanted to. She knew all that there was to see, but she knew there was nothing she could do.

It was well past noontime when the girl’s feet brought her to the shoreline and it was then that she noticed something was different, she walked towards what new sight she saw, something odd, something that wasn’t supposed to be there, something which confused her.

“Does the ocean offer up wood to the land or something like that?” She thought jokingly, drawing ever closer.

Walking through the shore and looking to the left where large rocks instead of sand lay, she saw several planks of wood which looked to her as though they were once part of a boat, all torn apart.

“I guess the storm may have blown away one from the docks” she thought, but upon closer inspection, she was surprised by what she saw.

“the materials used, the style, the woodwork, it's all different. This boat, if it was one, isn't from here, for I cannot recognize it.” She said as she looked back to the sandy part of the beach, taking note of the differences through her memory.

She soon noticed footprints, human footprints, just nearby her own from when she arrived.

She thought to herself as she examined them too. “These feet are larger than mine, a bit of uneven steps, and judging from how shallow it is, sometime must have already passed since these were made, it also seems like its source is headed for the village. Something, or someone was here.” Looking around her, she continued. “find whatever did this.” She said. At this point, the idea of seeing a new person gave made her greatly excited and nervous at the same time, she immediately sought out the source of the footprints, preparing herself for if her assumptions where correct.

And she was correct.

It was nearly dusk when the girl found the mystery individual. “A person, I knew it.” she thought as her heart skipped a beat and mixed feelings began kicking in. “And a boy at that too.”

The person who was inside one of the small houses of white stone left as though disappointed, the girl followed him for a while, hiding behind the walls and nearby bushes, knowing not to make the slightest sound. The boy however seemed paranoid, always looking left, right and back, making her even more cautious and giving her a difficult time.

Trying to suppress her newfound anxiety and excitement, she decided to focus on what he was doing rather than his very presence.

“He seems awfully disoriented, don't you think? He also seems tired.” She said as she hid behind a tree, looking down. “I shall observe him for a while, I'm counting on you to do the same.”

That night, the boy, seeking shelter, went to the castle. He still seemed down and waltz in as though knowing that nobody was going to be there, what he wasn't aware of was that he isn't the only human around, our protagonist, hiding in plain sight, is watching his every move intently.

“Perhaps he worked on the assumption that he’s alone now, poor boy.” The girl thought.

The boy muttered to himself. “I guess I'll get me some food, there might be something left in here.”

Although he said this under his breath, the silent walls of the whole place echoed it and it reached the girls ears. She stealthily followed him as he looked for where the kitchen would be.

“So this is it, I shouldn’t have expected much, no dinner tonight it seems.” The boy said the moment he found what he was searching for.

 Not only was he disappointed by how empty it was, he also found himself disappointed by how he thought there might be food. The girl was peeping from behind a wall and heard all that he had said.

As the boy looked through the empty tables and cabinets, he noticed the hearth. The girl saw that his eyes showed signs of skepticism towards it. Surprisingly for her, he spoke loud enough for her to make out what he said.

“This was lit up recently, someone was here.” The boy muttered to himself. “Anyone home?!” He shouted thereafter.

The girl was now nervous and in a cold sweat.

“He asked that just now? such bad timing... Maybe this isn’t such a good idea but perhaps this is a nice time for me to show up and introduce myself… Or maybe not, I still don’t know a thing about him.” She thought.

“You know what, fine. Let’s go.” The girl said, going against her better judgement. She composed herself and cleared her voice, she opened her mouth preparing to speak. “Hel—”

“Aww, there really isn't anyone here, I guess the paranoia is getting to me, I should turn in for the night” Said the boy.

The girl who was cut off, was annoyed and said to herself “How uncouth of him, I just wanted to say hello... Alright, on second thought maybe the introductions will have to wait until I know better.”

“Still, I pity him, reminds me of myself sometimes.”

The boy returned to the main hall and went up the stairs, there he lay on the royal bed, supposedly meant only for the would be king and queen.

“Not like anyone will be using this anytime soon.” He said.

The girl, peeking through the door of the room said to herself under her breath “So you dare take my bed of all the free rooms here… This room was supposed to be mine and mine alone.” She thought with irritation and almost wanted to let him out herself. “Hmph! I'll give you that for now.” She said silently as she walked away.

“So, what do you think of him? He seems fine right? This has been the most eventful thing to happen to me in ages, although I shouldn't be too excited, I don't know anything about this person yet, so I’ll bide my time.” The girl said as she left the castle.

Into the evening fields she walked, at the dim blue sea of grass, passing by some dark looming structures that she did not pay any heed nor fear. In the moonlit sky one moment, under some trees the next, she kept moving on as though knowing the entire path like the back of her hand. The castle slowly but surely became smaller, and with the night, barely anything apart from its dark silhouette can be seen.

The eyes of some evening dwellers were on her, but still, not the slightest bit of fear manifested in her. The sounds of animals that would be nice to hear at daytime but terrifying at night, the reflections of the moonlight cast on eyes which looked like they glowed, the place that would be considered scary by the average person, did nothing to the girl.

It was late into the night by then, the girl kept walking till she reached the entrance of the would be prisoner's quarters, picking and lighting up a nearby lamp. She descended into the dark hallways, walked on and on with only the sound of her own footsteps to hear and only the dim light from the lamp to see, the place was even darker, and nothing could ever be seen beyond the candlelight’s reach, and yet, still the girl didn’t care, she was still preoccupied with her thoughts about that day, and have begun to become expectant of what tomorrow will bring.

But in what seemed like eternity cut short, she exited through the island's sewer's.

There were rats passing by every now and then, but the girl was unafraid, in fact, she almost seemed relieved to see them. Although she is in fact in the sewer system, there was no stench of any sort, for all the waste travelled to and towards the ocean, and since nobody else apart from her had any use for it up until now, any existing waste would've completely washed off.

The place is still dark however, and it took time for her to reach her destination, beyond her now stood a ladder, as she climbed it, she found herself at a tall yet no so wide room, it was one of the island's watchtowers.

She placed her lamp aside and climbed the tower’s stairs, and upon reaching the top, she just stayed and sat there, admiring the midnight sky. Soon she lay down.

She left happy that night, happy that something new has finally arrived, she couldn’t easily contain her excitement and made many funny faces as she lay down and imagined what might happen next.

And then she closed her eyes.